Baby Steps
by 1 Jagged Outlaw Queen
Summary: This little story kept popping into my head, but it doesn't really fit with the other Once Upon a Time story I currently have in progress. So, I decided to turn it into a quick sweet little one-shot


**Baby Steps**

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own, and I am not affiliated with the show, Once Upon a Time in any way. Nor do I own its characters. I just love them and think they should have been treated better than they were. Unlike their creators, I do believe in happy endings. Still, all credit for Once Upon a Time and it characters goes to Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis.

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Pulling a keg out of storage in the back room of The Lucky Feather Pub & Grill at 9:00 PM on a Tuesday night, Robin Locksley turns it on its side and uses the toe of his left boot to send in rolling across the floor. Carrying a bus boy's tub full of clean beer glasses as he goes, he repeats the process twice more. Behind the bar, he puts the tub down and sets the keg right again before he kneels to make quick work of hooking it to a tap. Before he's on his feet again, someone reaches over from the opposite side of the bar and places a pint-size beer mug beneath the spigot and opens the tap.

Moving with deliberation, the barkeep comes to his feet surreptitiously and raises an inquiring eyebrow as he holds his hand palm up; waiting for payment.

Will Scarlett grins sheepishly. "I'm wounded! Are you telling me that your mates don't drink for free?"

Robin's laughter is humorless. "If my mates drank free, my mates wouldn't have a place to drink. Look around friend. Do you see a single face in here that you don't recognize?"

"Well, maybe if the mayor didn't insist on keeping the entire town cloaked, we'd get some new blood in here once in a while."

Rolling his eyes, Robin refuses to take the bait. "You're not a prisoner. If its new faces you crave, you know your way to the town line, brother."

Will spreads his arms wide. "What? And leave all this."

John Little approaches the bar and thumps the younger man on the back hard enough to make his beer splatter "What's the trouble, Will. Trying to dodge your bar tab again?"

"Hey! I'll have you know; I paid my tab in full two days ago."

Robin nods as he wipes up the splattered ale on the bar and begins drying and re-shelving clean glasses. "Yes, you did. And, you owe me $27.00 just for what you drank yesterday."

"Have a heart. Give me a job, so I can afford to pay my bar bill. I'll work hard."

When Mr. Smee drops a folded $20.00 bill on the bar a few seats down and heads for the door, Robin steps over to clear his place as he informs Will, "Sure, I give you a job, you drink half my inventory, and still expect payment… No, I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." Scarlet rises to his feet. "Cheap labor…" he walks across the room. "going out the door."

Robin waves in farewell.

Undaunted, Will shrugs. "This is your last chance."

Robin points to his half-empty glass and lets him go with a reminder. "I'm putting that drink on your tab."

Will shrugs.

"Since you're going to pay for it either way, you may as well come back and finish it."

Will disappears through the door.

Little John picks up the half empty mug and drains it. "You do know, there isn't one of us who would fault you if you decide to ban him from this place. He comes in here just to give you a hard time."

Robin shrugs. "That's just because he's got nothing better to do. He's a bit lost. It'll be different when he finds something, or someone, to care about. We're the only family he's got left."

"He knows, just like the rest of us do, that you're working two other jobs just to keep this place out of the red. I don't get it. You're breaking your back just to keep the doors open. So, why let him come in here and harass you this way. You don't need that."

Robin shrugs again. "If he gets on my nerves, I'll do something about it. He doesn't know he's being an ass. He has no one but himself to worry about. The thought that I've barely seen my wife and kids this week, a guy like him doesn't think about that. He has no reason to think about things like that. He's got no frame of reference."

"Want me to edu-ma-cate him?" Little John jokes eagerly."

Robin shakes his head. "Leave him be. If he gets cross with you, we'll all be in misery. I've got enough to do already this week without having to play mediator."

Six ½ hours later, he collapses onto the bench at the foot of his bed. He rubs his tired face in the darkness and has just enough time to kick off his right boot before his 11-month-old daughter suddenly materializes in his lap courtesy of a bright magenta colored cloud of smoke and throws her arms around him.

"Dad-dy!" She nearly squeals with glee and then has to talk around the hand gently covering her mouth.

"Shhh!" Robin warns quietly. "Don't wake Mama. Let's let her sleep, okay?"

Norah uses both hands to carefully remove he father's larger one, and then whispers happily, "Daddy home."

Smiling, Robin whispers back, "Yes, I'm home and you're supposed to be in your bed asleep."

Stubbornly, she curls into his chest and lays her head against his shoulder.

"Aww okay." He surrenders; too tired to disappoint her. "If you promise not to make any noise, we'll go snuggle in the chair for a little while."

She hugs him tighter and nods.

With one boot still tightly laced, Robin moves quietly to the farthest corner of the room, picks up the baby blanket draped over the back of his chair, and settles in; wrapping it snugly around her.

When she picks her head up and softly touches his face, he cups the back of her curly little head and gently forces it back down onto his shoulder.

Two hours later, Regina wakes suddenly when her mind registers the fact that her outstretched hand feels neither him, nor his body's warmth. She pushes herself up on one elbow, reaching for the lamp, and searching the dimly lit room for her husband. When she catches sight of him asleep in the chair with their daughter in his lap, she sighs and gets out of bed.

As she lifts the girl off his chest, he stirs enough to open his eyes and find her standing over him with a cautionary finger held softly against her own lips.

She leaves the bedroom long enough to return Norah to her own bed and quickly check to make sure that both Henry and Roland are sleeping soundly. When she returns, she finds him, seated in the same chair and of the verge of using his pocketknife to cut the knotted laces of the one boot he still wears. Solemnly, she approaches. Going down on her knees, she takes the knife away from him and places it on the nearby end table.

Without a word, she removes his footwear and helps him off with his jacket and shirt before guiding him back to his feet and over to the bed.

He starts to sit and is momentarily confused when her strong confident arms insist that he remain upright. Mutely, he stands there, watching her undo his belt and the fly of his trousers. When they fall to his knees, she waits for him to sit and kick them the rest of the way off. He rolls into bed, and Regina pulls the blankets up to his shoulders before walking around to the other side of the bed and climbing back in.

She settles in and flicks out the light.

When he knows she's comfortable, he moves closer, draping an arm around her hips and torso.

She listens to him breathe in the predawn darkness and just when she's certain he's asleep, he whispers, "What did I miss yesterday."

"Henry wants a motorcycle. Roland wants to play little league baseball. Norah thinks that if you're going to spend so much time at work, then she should be allowed to go to work with you."

He chuckles softly. "Did you finish working on next year's annual town budget?"

"Uh-hmm, I finished that four days ago, Robin. Snow helped."

"I've missed three whole days."

"No, but close to it."

I'm sorry, mi'lady. What have you been up to for the last three days?"

Tri-kingdom conference. Me, Snow, Zelena. We've been to the Enchanted Forest, Oz, and Covarrachia. You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to put in an appearance at one of these things, and let the people of Elyria know that they still have a Marquis."

"Do I have to?"

"They are planning a ball this weekend."

Robin groans comically. "Another one?"

It would be very ill-mannered of you not to at least pop in, especially since their planning this one in honor of your birthday. Besides, you always say you don't want to go, but you always have a good time when you do."

Hoping to change the subject, Robin kisses her temple and asks, "And, what do you want?"

Regina squints in uncertainty; not understanding the reason for the question.

Nodding slightly, Robin prompts her. "Henry wants a motorcycle, Roland wants to play baseball, Norah wants to go to work with me… And what do you want, my love?"

Regina pats his chest and whispers in his ear, "Go to sleep, Forest Boy. You're too tired for what I want, but if we can go to the party this weekend for just a little while; after we leave, I'll let you run away from home for a few hours. If you're good, I'll even come with you."

Robin smiles and drifts back into sleep eager for dreams of a little adults-only time alone with his wife.

By Thursday afternoon, Regina still can't honestly say that her husband is looking forward to the party. He is, however, looking forward to a night off work. A chance for he and his family to get away from work and school. The chance to simply relax and be together. They are all being pulled in too many different directions. Everybody else seems to be fine with it, but Robin need some downtime, and still life keeps humming along.

The boys are going to Emma's after school, and Henry Sr. was supposed to go and visit his friend, Frederic Elderberry, the former Marquis of Elyria and Robin's predecessor this evening, but the elderly king opted to stay home with Norah when Storybrooke's only daycare closed early due to an outbreak of chicken pox.

While Robin is busy preparing the Lucky Feather for her Thursday night regulars, Regina is in her office, but she's not having much luck getting any work done. Zelena has dropped by to brag about Eliana's newest achievement. Regina watches with the appropriate enthusiasm the first time the two-year-old girl uses her godly powers to magically call for a ripe red apple from the crystal bowl in the center of her aunt's reception table. By the time the girl has called for five apples, and taken a single bite from each fruit, Regina is somewhat less impressed. Trying to think of a way to get them politely out of her office, she tries not to sound too thrilled when the telephone rings and claims her attention. However, relief quickly turns to worry when her father's voice comes through the telephone line and tells that she's needed at home right away. Knowing that her father is not an alarmist, she envisions Norah with a fever and a rampant case of the itchy childhood ailment. She wastes no time at all as she literally pushes her sister out of her office with a hastily muttered apology. As the worried queen disappears in a cloud of royal smoke, she's barely aware of her niece asking to go home with her and play with "Nor-nah"

Re-materializing in her own living room, she's momentarily stunned to find her niece doing the same in her arms. "Eliana? You were supposed to go home with your mummy."

With an apple still clutched in her chubby little fist, Eliana shakes her head. "I play Nor-nah."

Regina groans in frustration but before she can even call out to her father, letting him know that she's there, her sister materializes in a swirling vortex of green smoke. Shaking her head, Zelena reclaims her wayward daughter and leaves just as quickly as she arrived; her voice trailing after her. "Just yell if you need me."

"Daddy?" Regina calls out, hoping to get a clue as to where in the house he might be.

"Kitchen." Comes her father's abbreviated but calm reply.

She quickly crosses the living room and steps through the kitchen archway to find him standing at the kitchen counter slicing a banana; its pieces falling into a bowl that already contains a medley of other sliced fruits. Right beside him, Norah stands on tiptoe, watching her grandfather's every move, and clinging to the kitchen counter's edge with both hands for support.

Regina scoops her up. She touches her daughter's face and pushes the sleeves of her sweater up looking for any trace of the tell-tale rash of pockmarks. She kisses the girl's forehead. No fever.

"She looks fine to me, Daddy. She's not sick. She doesn't even look like she feels bad." To Norah she says, "Are you okay, honey?"

Henry squints as Norah reaches for him, more focused on him than her mother. "I didn't say she was sick. I said you were needed here. Norah has something she wants to show you."

Surprised, and relieved that she wasn't called home to treat chicken pox, Regina smiles with only the smallest trace of impatience "What is it, Norah."

Moving his bowl of fruit to the kitchen table a few feet away, Henry takes his usual seat, and says, "Put her down."

Confused, Regina lowers her daughter's feet to the floor.

Henry smiles as he selects a slice of the strawberry from the bowl and tells his daughter, "You stay there." Holding up the slice of berry, putting it on display, he calls to his granddaughter. "Norah, come share with Papa."

Norah's dark eyes follow his voice. She's hesitant to let go of Regina's hand at first, but Henry waits her out. He pops the strawberry into his mouth, and reaches back into the bowl, this time, holding up a slice of banana.

Norah smiles but stays where she is.

Henry teases her. "Where's my little monkey. Where did Norah go?"

When he looks under the table, pretending to search for her, she giggles and lets go of her mother's hand to slowly toddle across the kitchen floor on her unsteady legs

She's slow, but she doesn't fall. When she finally reaches him, he scoops her up and hugs her tightly before surrendering her reward and telling Regina, I was over there getting our snack out of the refrigerator. One second, she was happily playing on her blanket." He indicates the baby blanket spread out on the floor halfway between kitchen archway and the table. "The next, I've looked down and she was headed straight for me."

Rushing forward, Regina scoops her daughter up, and kisses her noisily. "Norah! You can walk!"

Norah ignores her mother. She's much more interested in munching on banana. She reaches for another piece of fruit.

Regina picks up the bowl and offers the girl her own choice. "Oh, alright I get it. You think this is no big deal. You just decided you were ready, so there! You wanna go show Daddy?"

Norah loses interest in the bowl of fruit and looks around the room; searching. "Daddy?"

Regina laughs. "Daddy's at work. You want to go see him?"

Norah smiles.

Henry laughs. "I think you better take her. I'd hate for him to feel like he missed out."

Regina buttons Norah's sweater, and runs her fingers through the girl's unruly curls, trying to subdue them at least slightly as she says, "When I first met your brother, I assumed he got his head full of curly hair from his mother's family. I guess not. I wonder who in your daddy's family gave you and Roland all your curls?"

Norah parrots back the only word she's concerned with. "Daddy."

"I know. I know. We're going, right now. Tell Papa bye-bye."

Norah leans over in Regina's arms and kisses her grandfather, who says, "Bye-bye monkey. See you later." She waves goodbye and when her mother's customary purple cloud of departure is mixed with a smaller one that is a bold shade of pink, Henry chuckles and shakes his head. Talking to no one but himself, he says with grandfatherly pride, "She's learning way too fast."

When they arrive on the sidewalk outside the tavern, Norah claps her small hands together happily. "Daddy!"

Just as a second vibrant pink cloud of smoke begins to materialize, Regina scolds lightly, "No Norah. Let's walk in through the door. Let's show Daddy what you can do. He's going to be so proud of you."

Regina slips in with a small group of bar patrons and, because he's busy behind the bar, it takes Robin a few seconds to look up in surprise and smile with a welcoming light shining in his blue eyes.

"I wasn't expecting my two favorite girls this afternoon." He steps through the gateway in the bar, headed their way until Regina quietly stalls him with a raised hand.

Making sure she's not too far away, and that Norah will have a reasonably traffic-free path, she lowers her feet to the floor. When she's certain the little girl is stable on her feet, she pulls both of her index fingers free of Norah's grasp and whispers, "Go get him!"

For two long seconds, Robin is perfectly motionless as he watches his baby girl cross the floor of his bar on her own two feet for the very first time. When she's halfway between her two parents Norah goes still in the middle of the bar and experiences a moment of doubt that is clearly visible on her face. Realizing that she's distracted by the small crowd of weekday regulars, Robin goes down on one knee. For a moment, she looks as though she might cry, until Robin calls out, reclaiming her attention. "Norah, you're okay. I'm right here, sweetheart."

Norah smiles, and tries to run before she's ready. She falls, but before Robin can even get to his feet, she's up and on the move again. She barrels into his arms and he lifts her high over his head and dances around the room with her; laughing and cheering as he goes.

All of the merry men who are present in the bar join in with laughter and shouts of praise. Little John thumps his old friend on the back. "Better look out, mate. Next thing you know, the lass will be running, and you'll be chasin' her."

Robin laughs as he pulls Norah into a fierce hug. "I'm not worried about that. Not today. Maybe next week. This weekend we've got a party to go to. And I'm going to dance with the two prettiest girls in the room all night long." He hugs Regina and kisses the top of his daughter's head.

Feeling shortchanged, Percival shouts, "This weekend! You're not planning to celebrate until then? What about tonight?"

Pretending to think it over, Robin looks to Regina, who shrugs happily. He looks to his daughter and whispers loudly, telling her what to say.

For a moment, Norah wrinkles her nose in uncertainty but when Robin smiles, offering his encouragement and whispers again, she smiles and announces, "Bar's open."


End file.
